The surface of American society is, if I may use the expression, covered with a layer of democracy, from beneath which the old aristocratic colors sometimes peep.

Alexis de Tocqueville (1805-1859) French writer, diplomat, politician

Democracy in America, ch. 2 (1835) [tr. Reeve (1899)]
    (Source)

Alt. trans.:
• As above, but given as "... sometimes seep."
• "American society, if I may put it this way, is like a painting that is democratic on the surface but from time to time allows the old acistocratic colors to peep through." [tr. Goldhammer (2004)]
• "The surface of American society is covered with a layer of democratic paint, but from time to time one can see the old aristocratic colors breaking through."